My Little Pony: Watching the Show
by Riley-Cooper123
Summary: Twilight comes up with a spell to let them all watch the past, starting with her own arrival to Ponyville to their defeat of the Shadow Pony. Not Season 8 compliant. Won't have actual dialogue from the show in it.


It was a normal day for the ponies of Equestria. The weather pegasi were hard at work in the sky, the earth ponies were going about their business, and unicorns were doing whatever it was that unicorns do. One special pony in particular had been holed up in the castle at which she lived, pouring over old books and muttering to herself about old spells that nopony except the very VERY old had ever heard about.

None of her friends, not even the ones that lived with her, had seen this particular pony for three days. She didn't sleep, she didn't eat, she didn't even take potty breaks. She was on a mission, and nothing would stop her! Until finally, one day, she exclaimed aloud to echo in the vast room "Aha! I got it!"

This pony was Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship and once-upon-a-time bearer of the element of magic. She'd been trying to put together a certain spell for a certain set of ponies, who'd missed so much of the world. And finally, it was time! Twilight galloped from her study and slammed the doors open. "SPIKE, STARLIGHT! COME HERE!"

The sound of hooves striking stone and the pitter patter of clawed feet came charging towards her, and Twilight paced in a frenzied circle. Finally her friends appeared, each looking worried and relieved. "Twilight!" Spike cried, running forward to hug her leg. Twilight leaned down to hug him back, nuzzling him affectionately. "Thank Celestia, you've been in there for days!" He caught a whiff of her stench and pulled back quickly, plugging his nose up. "Ugh, you reek."

She laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of her neck, getting the same scent he did. "Phew, you're right… I'll need to take a bath before we gather everybody."

Starlight, smartly taking both of their comments as warning, stood back. "What do you mean gather everybody? For what? And don't think I don't see those bags under your eyes, either! You're going to need more than just a bath before seeing everybody. Take a bath, eat Spike's weight in food, then sleep for a day."

Twilight waved a hoof dismissively through the air, "Bah, I don't need all tha-" A wave of exhaustion and dizziness hit her, cutting her off and making her stumble. How could she stumble if she wasn't walking? Huh, weird. "Okay, maybe you're right. But I need everybody here tomorrow! Like, [i]everybody[/i]. Get the girls, the Pillars, the Princesses, even Shining Armor and Cadence. This is going to be big! Like, really big! Like-" A MONSTROUS yawn interrupted her once again. "Like that big."

-THE NEXT DAY-

For such a large crowd of well-known ponies (in most cases), it's a shock the sight of them didn't insight a panic. But the ponies of Ponyville were used to crises, and all it took for them to go about their normal day was Princess Celestia assuring them with a gentle smile that there was no danger. Princess Twilight had simply called them all for a visit. Why would the Princess of the Sun, the eldest monarch, lie to them?

In actuality, literally NONE of them knew what this was about. Not even Starlight had all the details, and she was exceedingly sorry about it. "All I know is she cooped herself up in her personal library for three days and came rushing out of it yesterday, saying we needed all of you here. We're lucky I managed to convince her to take care of herself first or you'd all be subjected to a sleep deprived, starving, hadn't-washed-in-three-days Twilight instead of the normal one."

Practically everybody gathered cringed at the idea. "Oh, it wasn't that bad!" said the entering Twilight Sparkle. The look Spike and Starlight gave her screamed that, yes, it HAD been that bad. Twilight laughed sheepishly before addressing the room at large. "Thank you for coming, everypony. It's good to see you all again, and this time without the world being threatened!" Some of them chuckled at that. "I'm sorry to have pulled all of you from all your duties and jobs. Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Cadence, I understand if you need to leave. Your duties are the most important."

Celestia answered for all of them. "No need to worry, Princess Twilight. I cleared my schedule for the day, and aside from dealing with the sun and moon later, Luna and I are free to be here as long as you need us. I believe Princess Cadence left Sunburst in charge of the Crystal Empire?"

Everyone peered at the Princess of Love, and Cadence nodded happily. "I did! Shining Armor and I," Shining Armor waved at her side at his name, "even left Flurry Heart with him. He can send a message to us via magic if there are any problems that require our immediate attention. That is, so long as we're not dealing with a major problem here?"

Twilight's grin widened and she shook her head rapidly. "No no, no problems! I just had only the BIGGEST breakthrough in the history of magic since I rewrote Starswirl's friendship spell that earned me my wings!" She fluttered said wings excitedly, hovering off the ground a few inches before dropping back down. Snickers and giggles rang from different ponies in front of her, but Twilight was so excited she didn't let it phase her. "So as Starlight told you, I've been doing some research. Reading through old texts, deciphering old Pone-ish speak, and cross referencing more books than Rainbow Dash can probably count to!"

There was an offended "HEY!" from the Wonderbolt herself, prompting their friends to start laughing. Twilight waited until they had all calmed down (except for Pinkie Pie, because who could realistically expect her to calm down?) before bidding everybody to follow her. She led them to the map room, where the Cutie Map was already activated. Confused looked were sent all around before settling back on Twilight. "So first of all, introductions are in order. Cadence, Shining Armor, I don't think you've met the Pillars yet?"

It was such an out-of-left-field question that Cadence was caught off guard and stammered out a half-answer before her husband felt the need to rescue her. "Briefly, when we were on our way here. We know their names, but that's just about it."

Oddly enough, this seemed to please Twilight even more. "That makes this even better then. You see, these six ponies here are known as the Pillars, and they were basically the precursors to the Elements of Harmony!" She gave a brief overview of who the Pillars were and their importance to the history of Equestria, leaving her brother and sister-in-law gaping and in awe. Twilight let them stew in it for a bit before continuing. "The reason I bring this up is this. The Pillars have missed out on a lot, but I've found a way for them to catch up on recent history! It's simply a matter of-" and then she went on to explain things in such a way that only Starswirl and Starlight could understand her.

And by their reactions, whatever Twilight had announced was just as astounding as she'd said it would be. "Incredible…" Starlight breathed. Starswirl couldn't even seem to speak. For everybody else, Starlight explained. "Twilight has pretty much found a way to punch a hole through the timeline so we can watch the past!"

THAT got everybody's attention. Applejack whistled and took off her hat. Why? Who knows? "Hoo-wee, Twilight! I didn't even know you could do that! But, uh, how is that any different than when we saw the Pillars trapping the Pony of Shadows?"

If possible, Twilight's smile widened even more. "No, see, that's the best part! In a way, it's not different at all! The talismans the Pillars used to banish Stygian were connected to them, right? And the large amount of magic used in the spell is why we were able to see what happened before.

"Well, I've found a way to replicate that blast of magic as well as use something that connects all of us!" She pointed at the Cutie Map and explained what it was for the ponies that didn't know what it was. "This is the Cutie Map. When there's a friendship problem anywhere in Equestria, it calls one or two of us to fix it by flashing out cutie marks and hovering them over the place we're needed."

She waited a beat or two for someone to react, but nobody did. Twilight slumped down and sighed, putting it as simply as she could. "Not to brag, but my friends and I have pretty much been central to everything important that's happened to Equestria in the past five years. By using the magic and the map, I can make it so we can watch from the day we met to now, both to catch the Pillars up to date and just to reminisce."

There were gasps about. Twilight's friends, the Pillars, Cadence and Shining Armor, even Celestia and Luna, were all talking and trying be heard over their neighbors. Twilight had to shout for attention. "First, I need to explain something. This spell is the first of its kind. I can't say for absolute certain how it will manifest, and once I start it I'm not sure I'll be able to stop it. Secondly, this will probably show more than some of you are comfortable with. Private moments, embarrassing moments, things like that. So I think we should put it to a vote. Does anypony here think we shouldn't watch?"

At first it looked like no one would step forward, but slowly Starlight raised her hand with a worried bite to her lip. "What if watching this makes us think of each other differently?" 'What if watching this makes others think of ME differently?'

Whether or not the others heard the real question, Twilight did. She gave the most understanding smile she could conjure, hoping it laid Starlight's fears to rest. "Nopony here would ever think of the others differently. We're all friends now. Whatever happened in the past made us who we are today, and I, for one, am glad we are where we are."

Celestia stepped forward this time, but it was with a proud motherly smile. "Well said, Princess Twilight." Twilight beamed, like she was still Celestia's student and had just answered a difficult question correctly. "With that in mind, I assume there are no more protests?" Everyone shook their heads. "Then let us begin."

Twilight nodded and turned to face the Cutie Map. Her horn lit up with magic, the glow growing larger and larger, until suddenly Twilight condensed it into a small but brilliantly shining ball. Sweat dripped down her mane and her eyes squinted in concentration. Finally, with a grunt and shout, Twilight threw the magic at the Cutie Map. When it hit, the map starting glowing just as brightly. Some of those in the room backed up a step or two, but none made a move to leave.

At first it seemed like nothing would happen, and more than one pony slumped in disappointment. But slowly the map started glowing faintly. Just enough for them to notice. And above it, an image started hovering. The show had begun.


End file.
